When Worlds Touched
by Waltzing Muse
Summary: [Criss Angel] Tammy was just touching the surface of what a new life in Vegas has to offer her and her family. However to be touched by a force of someone like Criss Angel, it was something Tammy had never expected… nor sure she wanted.
1. The Patient on Bed 4

_Disclaimer: I do not own Criss Angel, his family and friends or any of his talented crew. I don't make any money out of this. _

Hello readers! Thank you for checking this story out. It's definitely my first Criss Angel fanfic and I hope you will enjoy it. To be honest, I was a little hesitant on writing a story based on an actual person but this brainstorm of a story just kept circulating in my head for so long that I just had to have it on paper. One thing led to the next and now I'm posting it on I just love this site. It's amazing how many talented writers are out there.

Also for this story to work, I had to fill out a lot of gaps that were missing like Criss Angel's full name and age. I know he's got to be at least in his late 20's if not older though he definitely looks younger (like shall we say 25?). Hey if any of you readers know any of these information, feel free to tell me.

Another major change that I had to make was that I arranged for this story take place shortly after Criss Angel had been struck by lightning or to be accurate; by the world largest Tesla Coils in Baraboo, Wisconsin in the year 2005. However, instead of Wisconsin, I changed it to take place in Las Vegas, Nevada instead. Also the details of Las Vegas is little different like the names of places that didn't really exists. You'll get what I mean as the story progresses.

Despite many changes and added details, I tried to make this story as believable and as realistic as possible. If there are also any drastic changes, I'll let you know about it. Overall, keep in mind that this is fanfiction and altogether, takes place in an alternate universe.

So… here we go: Enjoy!

**CHAPTER 1: The Patient on Bed 4**

_**// Now I was positive that I wiped away that last bit of cream cheese from my mouth before I came back here so I was sure that wasn't the reason why she was looking at me weird // **_

_** -Tammy Ai Chan**_

I took another sip from the coffee in my hand while I stood waiting for the elevator to arrived. I grimaced when I tasted that familiar sweetness sitting at the bottom of the cup and knew that I was done with it. Don't you just hate it when you realized too late that you had placed too much sugar in your coffee and you ended up drinking something akin to syrup when you reached near the end of it? Perfectly wasted coffee if you asked me.

Oh well.

I chucked my all too-sweetened coffee into a nearby trash can as I heard the familiar _'ding' _of the elevator arriving. I stepped through its open doors and absently pressed the button that would take me down to the main floor. I glanced down on my watch while holding a second cup of coffee in my other hand and was surprised to see that I still had about 3 hours before the end of my shift. As always, it had been a busy day working at Emergency ranging with people suffering from illnesses or from near fatal car accidents to the not too fatal (but just as demanding) people suffering from burns, minor wounds or fractures. All of them wanting a piece of me along with a handful of other nurses and health care providers that worked in the Emergency department.

Don't get me wrong, I love my job as a nurse and really couldn't imagine doing anything else. However, since I've only started working in Emergency for only about a month, I was still adjusting to its adrenaline paces and was still technically on probation in this hospital.

'_Ding'_

I stepped through the open elevator doors again and headed straight to my unit. I mumbled a few hellos to my co-workers as my eyes scanned for a particular brown-haired woman in a slate-green scrub uniform. When I found her sitting in the corner documenting in one of her patient's charts, I made a quick beeline towards her. I set the extra cup of coffee beside her causing her to look up at me standing there with a slight smile on my face.

"Thanks for covering my shift Megan. Got you coffee. Columbian with double cream, no sugar. I got it right?"

Megan smiled. A smile that reached her eyes. "Thanks darling, you're a peach." She took a sip from the coffee and gave a satisfied sigh. That's what I liked about Megan when I first met her on the unit. Even though she was only 25 years old (only about a year older than me), she had always insisted on calling all co-workers 'darling' or 'sugar' (even some of the doctors, though not in front of the patients mind you. Keeping up with professionalism and all that jazz). She didn't do it to be flirty or anything like that but simply her own way of warming up to you. And when you're a new nurse adjusting to a whole different unit, a new hospital and in a new country all at once, you would start to appreciate any friendly faces that crosses your path as well.

"Anything I should know about while I was away on break?"

"Oh yes." She took another sip and sighed again. Woman sure loved her coffee. "Your patient in bed 4 had already been moved to the fracture clinic."

I nodded in response. That patient with the broken right humerus was expected to be transferred to the fracture clinic to get an arm cast applied. The paperwork had already been done before I had left for my break.

"And you have a new patient."

"I do?" I was surprised. I hadn't expected one so quickly after since I had only been gone for half an hour. Then again like I mentioned before, I was still adjusting to this fast-paced unit.

"Yes, he came in 15 minutes ago with the paramedics, took over bed 4's space. Dr. Sterling is working on him right now."

"How come you're not there?" I was confused since Megan was covering me after all."

"Actually Pam's already working there since she was the first one available but she wanted you to meet her there as soon you're back so she can give you a further update."

Pam was what we like to call, my _'buddy nurse.' _My tour guide if you will, in Emergency while I was still adjusting to my environment. She was also my evaluator in terms of my probation here too which was actually quite nerve-wracking. But really, she's nice… in a no-nonsense kind of way, but definitely admirable in her work ethics. "Thanks," I replied as I brought my stethoscope out of my pocket and placed it around my neck. "I'll go there now. What about my other patients?"

"Checked on them 5 minutes ago, no changes."

"Alright better check this new patient out." I rubbed my hand in mock anticipation. "Oh yeah, tell me when you're going for break so that I can cover ya."

"Sure thing darling. Love your new look by the way. Didn't have a chance to tell you that today." Megan teased.

I scrunched my face at her childishly before smiling knowing that she meant no offense and adjusted the thick glasses on my face. I made my way to bed 4 which was in a single room at the other end of the unit. I was only about 10 feet away from reaching there when I could already see that this patient was going to need some serious attention (if the swarm of people surrounding the hall was any indication at all).

There were paramedics just exiting from the room and another nurse in a dark blue scrub uniform, whom I recognized as Victoria, talking to the swarm of people surrounding the entrance to bed 4. These people, I realized belatedly were probably my new patient's family and friends judging from their tense and worried expressions and stances. As I had gotten closer, I was able to hear bits of what Victoria was saying to them.

"I'm sorry. I know that you are all worried, but I'm going to have to asked you all to wait in the waiting area."

I made my way through the large group of people, excusing myself along the way. I nodded slightly to Victoria as our eyes met briefly before I entered the room. I was met by the sight of Dr. Sterling doing a thorough assessment on the patient while Pam hang an IV bag on a pole and worked on inserting the catheter into the patient's arm. One other nurse whom I did not recognized was in the room with a clipboard in hand while documenting furiously in everything going on and concentrating on what the doctor was saying. I quickly made myself useful and walked right to the patient's bedside.

"I'm here, what can I do?"

All three raised their head briefly to look at me before the doctor and the unnamed nurse went back to what they were doing knowing that Pam would give me a briefing while they continued to work.

"28. Male. He was shocked by 4 million volts of electricity about 45 minutes ago according to the reports. He crashed for a few seconds before being resuscitated by the paramedics 30 minutes ago but remains unconscious. We're working on trying to get his vitals stable right now before he crashes again." Pam explained and nodded her thanks to me as I handed her some dressing tape to stabilized the IV catheter on the patient's arm.

"I'm going to need a blood test, head and chest x-ray on this guy to check for any neurological and systemic damage." Dr. Sterling added as he checked the patient's pupils. I got to work quickly with aiding Pam in getting the tests ordered and whatever that had needed to be done.

It had taken all of us another 15 minutes to get the patient in a more stabled condition instead of on the verge of going into shock or another cardiac arrest. To be honest, what had been 15 minutes had felt like 15 hours with how tense we all were. It was pretty crazy, but we had worked well together.

When the patent feeling of tension was finally broken in the room, everybody including myself allowed ourselves a silent breath of relief. It was however short-lived because we all knew that although the patient was pass the crisis stage, he was still unconscious and that could mean many things. The possibilities of what happen could have this patient having a delayed recovery that would end up with him waking up at a later time. Or could lead to something worse, like damage to the brain resulting to patient not waking up at all. There could be no definite answer until either the tests results are in or the patient wakes up before then. Moments of liberations like these were just small victories of a grander scale.

Dr. Sterling turned to me. "I want you to notify me if he goes unstable again or wakes up. Record his vitals and any changes every 15 minutes for the next hour and if he remains stable, then just every half an hour after that until we get further details to determine what we can do for him."

"Right," I agreed before another thought occurred to me. "What about his family and friends waiting out there?"

"I will go talk to them now. They probably will want to see him now but as usual I'm limiting only one immediate family to see the patient at a time at least until the patient wakes up."

It was strict, but I knew that there was no point in overcrowding this room with worried people and at the same time, ended up in disturbing the other patients and staffs. After the doctor gave me a few more instructions along with a word of thanks and a promise of being back shortly after making his rounds, he and the nurse (whom I found from a brief glance at her nametag was named Karen) left the room.

"Tammy"

I turned to Pam who had called me.

"Will you be alright on your own for awhile?" she asked as she discarded her gloves and washed her hands.

I gave my best 'thanks-for-asking' smile. "I should be fine for now. Can you actually cover Megan's shift when she goes for break if it's not too much trouble? I said that I would but I think I would be in here for awhile longer."

"It should be no problem, if it is I'll see about getting another nurse to cover her break since you can't exactly leave this patient's side for the moment." she replied.

Didn't I tell you that she was nice. "Thanks."

I was expecting her to leave then but instead she just stood there and continued to look at me with this critical eye. Now I was positive that I wiped away that last bit of cream cheese from my mouth before I came back here so I was sure that wasn't the reason why she was looking at me weird. "What?" I finally asked self-consciously.

She shook her head with a slight smile. "Sorry I didn't mean to stare like that. You just look so different with glasses that's all. To be honest, I had a little trouble recognizing you at first when you came in for work today."

I chuckled. "Believe me, you're definitely not the first one to say that." That was the truth. Usually, I wore my contacts to work but I was done with my last pair sooner than anticipated. Since I was practically blind without them, I was stuck using my black thick square-framed glasses until next Monday when my new prescribed lenses should arrive. Several staffs actually had to do _triple _takes before realizing who I was when I walked into the unit. I admit that these glasses were certainly NOT what you would call fashionable, but who needs fashion when you had only planned to only wear them at home. Note to self: Choose glasses that doesn't make me look like a stranger to my friends and family next time I tried to save money. Anyway I'm ranting again.

"I will see you later. Ring the bell if you need any help."

"Sure." No sooner had I said that, Pam left also leaving me to watch over my newly admitted patient.

_Author's Note: _

_Can anyone guess who the patient is? It is quite obvious to anyone who's familiar with Criss Angel's weekly shows.  
Anyway I know that not much happened yet since this is a little introduction of the main character. Things should pick up soon in the next chapter.  
Likes? Dislikes? Constructive feedbacks? Questions? Feel free to ask or review!!  
- Waltzing Muse_


	2. Suicidal? Maybe

_Disclaimer: I do not own Criss Angel, his family and friends or any of his talented crew. I don't make any money out of this. _

**CHAPTER 2: Suicidal? Maybe…**

_**// "Dear God! I still have to explain all this to our mother too!" //  
J.D.**_

It was strangely quiet in the room. Well, as quiet as it could be with all the beeping and clicking that were coming off of the monitor machines along with the steady breathing emanating from the patient. I picked up the patient's chart and began reading more about his status. Since I had been so busy the minute I had entered this room, I didn't even had a chance to learn this man's name.

Turned out the man's full name was Christopher with a last name I couldn't quite make out due to the quick scrawl done by the nurse who filled it out earlier in her haste. I just knew that it started with a 'S'… or was that a 'D'? I made a mental note to clarify that later. However, it was the section right under the patient's full name that caught my attention next.

_Patient's Preferred Name: Criss or Criss Angel _

The second choice was an odd name. An interesting one, but odd. But then, who am I to judge? And it was definitely not the first time I came across people with unique nicknames. Like the time when I met a patient who had insisted that he be called a name that was actually some sort of cheese. Even my own name was a little strange too: Tammy Ai Chan. The 'Ai', quite literally translated from the Chinese dialect 'love', and was something that my mother added. Corny? A little, but something I wouldn't change. And no, my mother isn't Chinese or even Asian She's actually Italian but had grew up in Ottawa, Canada practically all her life before she married my Chinese father who had immigrated to Ottawa from Hong Kong, China a few years before he met my mom. But enough about my parents or my name for now, maybe I will talk more about my family later.

I scanned through the rest of this man's information, but found that a lot of it were left blank due to its writer's haste except for the more critical ones like the man's allergies, name of immediate family member, reason of admittance and current and past medical history (turned out the guy had been treated on separate occasions for overhydration, couple of minor burns, trauma and wounds as well. Talk about being accident-prone).

"Well Mr. Angel, you seemed to be doing pretty well considering you have just been shocked with a frequency of a lightning bolt plus all those past incidences you've had."

The man didn't answered of course, but I found talking to patients, even the unconscious ones, to be therapeutic for them and I was a bit unnerved with the silence with only the sound of beeping machines for company.

I took the time to take a better look at the patient. Even though his face was covered with an oxygen mask and body covered with wires galore, I could tell that the man was cute with dark shoulder-length hair, a handsome face with a slightly cleft chin and straight well-formed nose. I felt an absurd urge of wanting to see his eyes, eyes that would probably be able to grab the attention of any poor onlooker that happened to look his way. His chest was nice to look at too and very obvious that he worked out intensely. Yep a definite heart throb to many women (or men, if you want to be specific which I really don't have any problem with) out there. The rest of him was covered with a sheet, thank goodness. Don't get me wrong, as a nurse, nothing about the human anatomy is really sacred anymore. All the same, it wouldn't be professional to be found ogling at a patient. It's not nice to ogle period.

Moving on.

It was obvious that the man took good care of himself. It brought to the question of how he ended up getting electrocuted with 4 million volts of electricity in the first place. Maybe he's an electrician? Maybe. Struck by Mother Nature's lightning? No, there had been no news about a thunderstorm today. It was a mystery, one that I was very curious about.

"I hope you wake up soon, I'm sure your friends and family are worried sick about you, I know I would be." I said softly, not really knowing why I would place myself in the same line as this stranger's family or friends. Then again, this guy was my patient, it would be natural to care about his wellbeing.

It wasn't long when a man, whom I recognized as one of the patient's family or friends, entered hesitantly into the room. Like the patient, the guy also has shoulder-length dark hair, a prominent nose and brown eyes that at the moment, radiated with worry and uncertainty. Though the guy couldn't be any older than in his early thirties, the tired lines and worried anxiety shown on his face made him seemed much older. It was obvious that he wanted to jump immediately to the patient's bedside to see for himself how he was doing but at the same time, was hesitant either not knowing if he intruding or that he wasn't expecting someone else to in the room also (namely me).

Okay, time to bridge that gap.

"It's alright. You can come closer to see him if you want," I assured him.

He didn't need anymore encouragement after that and immediately crossed the 4 feet space separating him and the patient's bedside.

"Are you his brother?" I asked when I noticed some similarities in features between this man and the patient.

The man looked up surprised then seemed to remember his manners. "Yeah, I'm his older brother, you can call me J.D."

"It's good to meet you J.D, though I wish it was under better circumstances."

He nodded in agreement with a smile (a grim one, but a smile nevertheless).

"I'm Tammy and I'm a nurse who would be watching over your brother. Have Dr. Sterling spoken to you?"

"Yeah, he told me that Criss's condition is stable and does expect him to wake up sooner if not later." He stopped and looked at me without saying anymore, but I could already guess what else he had wanted to ask. What anyone would ask if their loved ones were unconscious.

_When do you think he will wake? _

That was a tough question. My knowledge in electrocuted patients was limited except that there would be a chance in chronic nerve damage. That was a fact I had decided not to mention for the time being solely on the reason that it was still too early to confirm anything without any more solid facts to back it up. There was no way I was going to scare the guy for no reason. While I didn't want to give false reassurance to get the guy's hope up, I didn't want to crush it either.

"Your brother seems like a very strong guy and Dr. Sterling is confident that he will wake eventually, we will just have to be patient and give him some time. It's n…" I instantly stopped myself. I had almost said that it was normal for any guy in this particular situation. To be honest, this was not really a _normal _situation. Nope, it just wasn't common to have people getting zapped by heavy doses of electricity on a daily basis. Then again I've only lived in Las Vegas for about three months and counting.

"It's what?" J.D. asked, catching my stumble.

I thought fast. "It's never determined when an unconscious person would wake up, sometimes a few seconds to a few hours. But whatever happens, I'll be here to watch over him." I wasn't sure if my last statement would be enough to comfort him. While I am confident in my own skills, J.D. didn't really know me long or well enough to know that.

The man smiled. "Thanks Tammy, it helps to know that."

Apparently it worked.

J.D. sighed, rubbing his face tiredly before looking down at his brother. "I really hated when he gets himself in these dangerous situations. You have no idea the stress and worry he puts me through, what he puts his whole family and friends through every single damn time…" He paused as if he suddenly realized something very important. "Dear God! I still have to explain all this to our mother too!"

I could practically see the wheels turning in his mind while it imagined and dreaded the hard and undoubtedly _long _conversation he'll be having with his mother. I honestly felt sorry for the guy. I hesitated slightly before placing a hand gently on his shoulder to get his attention. "Is she here now also?"

He shook his head. "No, our mother and our oldest brother, Costa is back home in New York right now. But they're expecting a call from us tonight to see how everything is going on."

"Would you rather have one of the hospital staff or even Dr. Sterling to inform your family in what has happened?"

The man looked tempted to accept the offer I was making in an attempt to avoid the inevitable explanation, but in the end shook his head again to decline. "No, I think it would be better if I tell them instead." He shuddered a bit. "But I think I will do it _after _Criss wakes up first. That way if I get yelled at by mom, Criss will be awake to take some as well. Though, his share would probably be way worse than mine for attempting something so stupid and risky again."

Once more, I was bothered with how he used the word _'again' _in describing his brother's situation. Before I could stop myself, I was already asking about it. "If you don't mind me asking, how _did _he get shocked with 4 million volts in the first place? Was it an accident?"

He chuckled although I had failed to see the humor in it. "No. No accident. He got himself shocked on purpose even though I'm sure he had no intention of winding up in the hospital in the first place."

Now that shocked me (no pun intended). This guy got himself nearly killed on _purpose_? Was this man suicidal? I began wondering if this patient was going to need a referral to a social worker and possibly a psychiatrist as well. My thoughts must have reflected on my face because J.D. shook his head still smiling.

"It's not what you think. He actually wanted to test the effects of getting struck by lightning."

Riiight… maybe not _intentionally _suicidal then. Was there such a thing? Maybe just a referral to a psychiatrist would be needed?

"That didn't sound any less crazy does it?" J.D. asked.

'_Not really' _I wanted to say but knew that it would lead nowhere. I decided to try another approach. "Do you know why Criss would often get into these kind of risky situations? Is it maybe related to his lifestyle or work?" I was my first time saying his name aloud and for some reason beyond my comprehension it felt… odd.

J.D. looked at me surprised then his expression cleared as if something finally clicked in his mind. Well I'm glad _one _of us is getting a clue.

"You don't know who my brother is do you?" he asked, looking at me as if in a new light.

What an odd question, we have only been talking about him for the past 15 minutes in the very least. I decided to go with the flow to see where all this was going to lead. "Criss, or Criss Angel as his preferred name according to his charts." Once again, that odd feeling resurfaced and I had to force myself to ignore it. Maybe I was coming down with something. Hope not.

I just wish I knew why J.D. was giving me that look. Maybe I had pronounced the names wrong. "Am I saying his name correctly?"

"Yes it's right, but you don't know what Criss Angel does for a living?"

I shook my head in response.

"Mindfreak?"

Did that guy just called me a _freak_?

"Excuse me but… what?"

"Mind. Freak," he repeated more clearly. "It's another one of Criss's signature names. Does that name sound familiar?"

I searched my mind but only came up with a blank. "No, I'm sorry it doesn't."

"No, it's alright," J.D. assured good-naturedly. "It's just been awhile since I've met someone who hasn't really heard of Criss Angel especially in Las Vegas. I don't mean to brag but he's been quite famous especially these past few years now. But it's comforting to know that you care very much for his wellbeing not just because he's some celebrity."

While I knew that he was only being nice, I couldn't help but felt a bit offended by that last bit of comment. I admit that I can't account for all nurses but identities had always mattered very little to me when concerning one of my patients unless of course, it interrelates with their wellbeing and health. My thoughts must have shown itself again because J.D. seemed to realized that he had offended me without meaning to (this disturbed me a bit because I'm not usually that easy to read or even that transparent).

"I'm so sorry, I'm bad with words. I didn't mean for it to come out like that. I'm just saying that you're a very caring and just person. I mean, it's obvious by the way you're putting up with me right now," he finished off guiltily.

Well, who could stay mad with such sincerity? Plus, the guy really looked miserable for thinking that he had wounded my feelings. He didn't really hurted my feelings. Just a little ego bruising. Nothing that I couldn't handle. "It's alright. I understand that you never meant to offend me in anyway."

He looked relieved by my words. I decided to steer our conversation back to its original course before things got anymore awkward. "So what does your brother do for a living? Is he an actor or something?"

"Sort of. He does many things really but mainly to put it simply, he's a magician or illusionist."

I said nothing for awhile, letting my mind process this new bit of information about Criss Angel aka magician/illusionist. A magician who evidently has a habit of committing dangerous suicidal stunts, the most recent one being electrocuted (4 million volts) and will seem to be able to recover from it in the near future, but in the meantime will remain a patient currently under my responsibility. Did I miss anything?

Oh yes, and apparently he's quite famous.

Was this consider a _normal _situation? Hell no.

* * *

_**Author's Note: **_

_Alright! J.D. makes an appearance! Hmm… Criss is still sleeping… For all of you guys who are eager for Criss to wake up soon, he should be up in the next chapter or maybe he'll stay sleeping for just a little bit longer… LOL just kidding! That would be too mean._

_So what do you all think of Tammy's character? I hoped she didn't sound like a know-it-all, because I'm trying to write her out as being a person with strong work ethics but at the same time, a person who is still always experiencing and learning new things both in work and in life. Like everybody in this world, she is anything **but **perfect and probably later on in the story, you guys may get more of that impression out of her. _

_**Now, to answer some reviews:**_

_BlueStar: Thank you for being my first reviewer! I'm glad you like what you're seeing so far. Hope you will like chapter 2!_

_QuietlyGrieving: Thank you for reviewing. I try to be as original as possible and I know how you feel about being scare for Criss because some of the stunts that he does are really just crazy! _

_CrissAngel O.o: I'm glad you're enjoying my story. I hope I won't disappoint you. It's really great to hear what my readers think. _

_Captain Jackie Lovely: Hi thanks for answering my question on your story! I really appreciate it and you're right I really don't care if you say 'actually' a lot LOL I do that too actually (whoa! there I go…) _

_Please review and tell me what you think or to ask any questions and I'll try to answer them. Stay tune for chapter 3! _

_Love, Waltzing Muse _


	3. Not That Famous Right?

_Disclaimer: (SIGH) I do not own Criss Angel, his family and friends or any of his talented crew. I don't make any money out of this. _

**  
CHAPTER 3: Not _That_ Famous Right?**

_**// "I don't know, I'm sure it will pay a hefty part for a good cup of coffee around here. Or a chance to win big cash at some cheap slot machine" //**_

_**Tammy Ai Chan**_

_July 11, 2005. _

_16:15_

_Patient reassessed. VS checked. T 97.5 F, P 88 bpm, RR 16 breaths/min, BP 127/76 mm hg, O2 Sat 98 2L. Pt is still unconscious with assessments remaining unchanged as prior documentation._

I paused momentarily in my writing to think before continuing.

_Patient's brother had spoken with doctor and was notified of patient's condition. Brother is very worried about patient not waking up but had agreed to be the one to inform his family and friends on patient's condition. Brother wishes to be informed as soon as possible when patient wakes. Will continue to monitor patient._

I signed my designation after my notes on the patient's chart before returning it back near the patient's bedside.

"Tammy."

I jumped at the sound of my name, startled from the quiet rhythm of the room of constant mechanical beeping. I turned to see Megan again entering with a guilty expression on her face.

"Sorry darling, didn't mean to scare you like that. Should have knocked first."

I shook my head. "It's alright Meg, have you gone for your break?"

"I've gone almost half an hour ago."

"You did?" I realized belatedly that I had been in this room monitoring this patient for almost an hour already. "What can I do for you?"

"Actually I'm here to cover you momentarily so that you can go to the patient on bed 2."

"Bed 2? Why?" I asked worriedly. That patient was a six-year-old girl named Suzi who came into Emergency with her mother with a case of appendicitis. She was to go for surgery to have her appendix removed as soon as everything was arranged. I wasn't sure why the girl hadn't been transferred to the surgical unit yet. Did something went wrong?

"We've been trying for the last 15 minutes to get an IV line in her but the darling was so scared that she wouldn't let us get within 2 feet near her as soon as we even mentioned the word 'needle'."

"What about the mother? Didn't she tried to help calm her daughter down."

"Yeah she tried, but the girl wouldn't listen. I'm actually surprised with how much energy the little darling is resisting with given with the pain she's in right now. Victoria and I tried practically everything to get the girl to cooperate, but you can't reason with a little one when they're scared like that."

I had to agreed with Megan with that one. Given with the experience I had working with kids, reasoning with young kids is just useless when they don't want to listen to you. Kids throwing temper tantrums are a very good example of that fact.

"We though you might want to give it a try while I look after your patient for a bit. Since she's originally your patient, she knows you a bit better then the rest of us. But if it doesn't work, Dr. Sterling might have to write a restraining order so that we can get that IV in her."

I winced. Actual restraints was always a last resort especially with children. The last thing you want to do was to traumatized a hospitalized child further with physical restraints. Not to mention the parents are _never _happy to see their child strapped down helplessly to a bed even if it was for their own good. Throughout my whole life in nursing I've worked with 2 cases where a child was strapped to a bed against their own will because they would've ended up hurting themselves if it wasn't done. Believe me when I say that it was twice too many times and practically the saddest thing to see and made me felt like the worst being alive for not being able to do anything else.

I searched my mind for any way to solve this current little dilemma. Megan already mentioned that talking was useless and the mother couldn't help much either. A popular method was usually to bribe the children with candy (yes, its old but surprisingly effective). However that wouldn't work since the girl couldn't eat anything before surgery and I doubt the girl would be satisfied with just holding the lollipop without getting a taste. I looked around the room for some sort of inspiration and my eyes landed on the patient still _'sleeping__' _His condition unchanged. Oh wait, That was it!

"Megan, do you have any spare change with you that I can borrow?"

She looked at me curiously before fishing out her wallet. "How much do you need, I don't carry much."

"Just a coin would do, a quarter maybe?"

She handed me a shiny quarter. "Don't tell me you're going to try to bribe the darling with money. I don't think that will work with her."

I shook my head with a grin. "Bribing, yes. With money, no," I answered as I pocketed the coin. "I just hope my idea works. Wish me luck!"

After I gave a brief update on the status of my patient's condition to Megan, I left the room to two doors to my left to bed 2 with the mission on hand. I had the sudden urge to hum the theme from 'Mission Impossible' before entering the room but the other staff members might look at me weird… again. Damn these glasses!

I entered the room that was very similar to the one I was in before except this time, a young girl with short curly hair and large clear green eyes occupied the bed. Her mother, a women in her mid-thirties was an exact replica of her daughter (or would it be the other way around?) with her long curly hair tied up into a messy bun and green eyes that radiated with worry. She stood by the girl's bedside stroking the daughter's forehead in a motherly fashion, murmuring soothing words that only the daughter could hear. When I entered, the mother looked up and instantly recognized me from before (I honestly think it was the glasses that gave it away… okay enough ranting about thick glasses now).

I smiled softly. "Hello Mrs. Parker, how are you doing?" It was a dumb question really. The mother was here for practically 2 hours worrying about her daughter whose appendix was about to burst. How do you think she would feel? But it was always a standard question to ask anyone when you first start a conversation and I was careful to let none of my thoughts appeared on my face.

As predicted, the older woman sighed tiredly and shook her head. "I'm ok but my daughter…" she stopped as if trying to control her emotions. I understood that she was trying her best to remain strong for her daughter. She obviously didn't want to get caught breaking down in front of her young daughter when she was the one suffering from the physical pain. You really have to admire selfless mothers like that.

I placed a hand on the woman's shoulder. "It will be alright. Do you mind if I spoke with Suzi a bit."

The mother nodded and stepped a bit further away but remained close by where her daughter could see her. I stood where the mother was standing before and gently placed my hand on the girl's shoulder to wake her. The girl woke instantly from her light and troubled sleep and looked at me with her big green eyes. I noticed her tear-streaked cheeks and felt my heart clenched.

"Hello Suzi, do you remember me?"

Suzi nodded timidly. "Tammy," she answered quietly.

I smiled. "That's right honey. How are you feeling?" Standard question.

"My tummy still hurts a lot."

I nodded, my eyes never leaving hers. "I understand and the doctors and nurses are going to get that fixed that that it won't hurt so much anymore. You know that we are all trying to help you get better right?"

She nodded again. "That's what doctors and nurses do. They make us feel better I mean."

I couldn't help but smile at that. They were such simple words but it basically does sum up what we do. To make people feel better. At least, it has always been our fundamental goal. To think this was spoken honestly by a six-year-old girl when I knew there would be many people out there who would argue otherwise. "That's right. Then you should understand that it's really important that we put an IV into you arm before we can help you get better right?"

Her reaction was instant.

The girl instantly shrank away from me (which was as far as the other side against the bedrails) as if I had just grew another head, whimpering and shaking her head furiously. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Mrs. Parker was ready to intervene.

I acted quickly.

"Suzi, do you like magic tricks?" I practically blurted out, mentally crossing my fingers that it would work.

That had gotten her attention. Although she had still kept her distance from me, her whimpering had stopped and the tears that were threatening to fall remained in her eyes making it appeared luminous as she gazed curiously at me.

I took the borrowed quarter out of my pocket. I flipped it once into the air letting the light glint off it prettily before catching it in my hand again. "Watch this," I said mysteriously. I flipped the coin over the back of my fingers of one of my hands several times before with a gentle flick of the wrist, I made it disappeared altogether.

The girl gasped in surprised and her eyes widen in amazement as it never left my hands.

I made the coin reappeared in my other hand and continued with the process of making the coin disappear and reappear in several different ways with a series of hand manipulations. It was the first and _only _trick that I knew taught to me by a dear childhood friend a while ago. It was a little skill that I perfected and often used to entertain my friends and family. It was a skill that I also used to entertained some of my patients especially children to cheer them up though I never used it for the purpose I was using it now for the sole reason I wasn't sure if it will work or not.

'_Well one way to find out,' _I thought as I prepared for the grand finale. With another flick of the wrist, the coin disappeared again and I made it look like as if it would appeared again as it had several times before, only it didn't.

"Oh my, where did it go?" I feinted surprised holding out my now bare hands up and out for Suzi to see. "Have you seen it?" I asked curiously.

Suzi, who by now was completely absorbed into my little trick, shook her head in awed.

I turned to the mother with a wink. "What about your mommy? Does she know where it had gone?"

Mrs Parker, who had caught my wink, played along. "No honey, I don't know where it had gone either."

The girl looked disappointed but I turned back to her with a mysterious smile. "Do you want to see it come back?"

"Yeah!" the girl answered enthusiastically despite the pain that she was suffering in her abdomen. Visual distractions were really something amazing really.

I looked at her in the eyes with a solemn expression. "How about this. If you let me put an IV into you very quickly I promise that I will make that coin come back in an extraordinary way."

Suzi's eyes dimmed again as fear crept back into it. However the fear wasn't enough to cloud the sparkle of curiosity fully and I took it as a sign to continue. "I promise you Suzi that it will be quick with only a little pain and your mommy will be right here beside you. Will you be a brave girl for me and your mommy?"

This was it, the moment of truth. I prayed that the girl's curiosity would be enough to override the fear that was preying on her. Suzi looked indecisive for awhile and for a second, I thought that she was going to refuse me again when slowly, she nodded her consent.

I smiled encouragingly at her and I quickly brought all the equipment together that had been prepared beforehand by Megan. I checked everything thrice according to the doctor's orders before I began. First, I tied the band on Suzi's arm to stop the blood flow momentarily so that I could search for the vein. After I found it easily enough, I prepared the needle catheter when a struck of inspiration hit me in how I could modified the finale of my magic trick.

"Would you like your mommy to hold your other hand while I put this needle in?"

She nodded adamantly. Her mother was by her side instantly and grasped her hand securely while her other hand went back to stroking her daughter's forehead in a comforting manner.

When I saw that they were ready, I inserted the needle gently but quickly into the girl's arm. A quick intake of air was heard from the girl while her grasp with her mother's hand tighten even more. I was glad that I was accurate with the vein the first time and I quickly discarded the long needle leaving the inserted catheter in place within the vein. I connected it to the IV line before securing everything in place with tape on the child's arm.

I breathed a sigh of relief as I adjusted the mechanical pump to its ordered rate to start the infusion. When I was finally done, I placed a hand on Suzi's shoulder to get her eyes (that have been tightly shut through the whole procedure) to open again.

Her eyes opened slowly to first look at me, then to the IV sitting securely in her arm and finally to her mother who was smiling proudly back at her.

"You were a very brave girl," I said trying not to laugh at the look of disbelief on the girl's face as if she couldn't believe she had survived such a procedure (and she hasn't even gone through the surgery yet). Amazing.

"What about the coin?" Suzi asked immediately after she realized I haven't completed my end of the bargain yet.

I laughed and pointed (without touching) the still tightly joined hands between her and her mother. "Open your hands and look."

Both mother and daughter looked at me curiously before complying and gasped in surprised when they found the same coin sitting in between their now open palms.

"How? When?" the mother was shocked, not understanding when I was able to slip the coin between their joined hands when it was obvious that I had been busy with the IV the whole time. At least, that was what it had appeared to be.

"That was so cool!" Suzi breathed and the pure joy radiating from her eyes was beautiful. At that moment I saw the girl behind the sickness; a curious girl who loves magic tricks and probably warm sunny days spent in the park with her mother.

The thought warmed my heart immensely.

* * *

"So you ended bribing the darling with a magic trick to get her to cooperate?" Megan was surprised when I explained to her what I did. Her expression was one of disbelief. 

"Pretty much," I admitted. "I wasn't sure if it was going to work."

"Well it's obvious that it did. What other tricks can you do?"

"Just that one trick. I don't even know any card tricks, so don't start to expect me to be pulling a rabbit out of a hat anytime soon." I chuckled. I pulled the quarter out of my pocket again and handed back to her.

"Such a shame," Megan sighed as she took the quarter from me and held it up at the light as if admiring some precious jewel. "You should have just given the girl the quarter after some amazing trick like that."

I raised an eyebrow at her. "You wouldn't mind?" I teased

Megan snorted good naturedly. "_Moi_? Please honey, what will I do with a _single__ quarter_ around here?"

I pretended to think hard. "I don't know, I'm sure it will pay a hefty part for a good cup of coffee around here. Or a chance to win big cash at some cheap slot machine," I answered, managing to keep my face straight as if we were discussing some life or death situation.

That cracked Megan up. "Only in Vegas darling! And I don't mean just the cash."

I smiled and turned my attention back to my patient on bed 4, ready to resume my work as this guy's monitor nurse.

However Megan wasn't done with the subject just quite yet. "But really, you should have given the coin to the girl. I'm sure her mother can keep it for her for the time being. You know, like for a souvenir."

I allowed my attention to shift back to the other nurse, adjusting my glasses in confusion. "Souvenir? For what?"

"Oh you know… so that she could remember that the nurses of Desert Springs Hospital can not only do their jobs right but are gifted with other special skills as well… At least we have one nurse who can perform magic tricks."

"The correct term is _trick_, not tricks. I only know one remember?" I couldn't help but point out. "My little _'special__ skill'_, as you would like to call it, is just some trick that anyone can learn if they practiced enough. I'm sure you have a better one."

"Does folding a handkerchief into a pretty swan count?" Megan asked thoughtfully.

"You can do that? Sure." I answered, part of me not really believing that we were having an actual _serious_ conversation about this.

"Anyway, it doesn't matter if you were a one trick puppy or not. Maybe this guy here can give you some tips… when he wakes of course."

"Mmhmm… sure…" I answered absently not really absorbing what she was saying anymore as I started to chart again. However when the full meaning of her words sank into my distracted little mind, I looked at her in surprise. "Hold on, are you telling me you know what this guy does for a living?"

It was Megan's turn to look shock. "Are you telling me that you _didn't_?" she countered.

I shook my head. "Not until about an hour ago when his older brother told me."

That sparked a definite interest in her. "Oh which one? J.D. or Costa?"

"J.D." I answered slowly, unsure of where all this was leading to. "He left not too long before you came to find me."

"Oh my God, I can't believe that I just missed him!"

"Well he…" I indicated to the patient, "isn't _that_ famous. Is he?"

I regretted the words as soon as it left my mouth. Given the scandalized look Megan was giving me, I might as well have asked _"Is __Tom__ Cruise __famous__?"_

"Tammy, Tammy, Tammy," Megan said, shaking her head while making _tsk __tsk_s ounds. "Where were you in the past few years? Under a rock?"

'_Working my butt off, doing immigration papers and moving from Canada to Las Vegas WHILE getting my nursing license approved to work in the States' _was what I wanted to say but figured that it was a rhetorical question so I kept my mouth shut.

"Anyway, the fact of the matter is that I can almost guarantee you that 99 percent of the population in this hospital has some _inkling_ of who Criss Angel is."

"Which means about 1 percent of this hospital population _doesn't_," I stated, rolling my eyes not really understanding why Megan was getting so excited over it. Whatever happened to the easy-going Meg I've gotten to know for the last three weeks? You think you know a girl…

"What I'm trying to say is…" I searched for the right words to say without further undermining the other woman's obvious… passion for this subject of conversation. "Does it really matter if he's famous or not? It's not like I'm going to give him any special treatment just for the fact that everyone else knows him."

"So does that mean you would give him _special__ treatment_ for any other reason?" she teased.

I gaped at her, not quite believing she had just said that. Thank God this guy was unconscious so he wouldn't have to listen to us talk about him like this.

"Oh don't look at me like that, he's _the _Criss Angel, I could think of many reasons in why you should give him special treatment."

"Name one," I challenged. _'Dear __God__ we're __NOT __having __this __conversation__'_

"He's cute."

I felt like I've just walked into that one. Smack dabbed into the middle of a glass door and still wondering what the hell has happened. I rubbed my temples and sighed. "I think you're missing my point, " I replied tiredly, ready to give up reasoning with the woman.

To my amazement, Megan laughed and I meant belly-achingly laughed. Just _what_ was so funny?

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Megan apologized when she finally finished laughing and wasn't on the verge of hyperventilating on me. "I couldn't resist teasing you this whole time."

"So are you saying that he's _not_ that famous then?" I asked cautiously.

"Oh he's famous," Megan answered casually. "I _meant_ what I said about the 99 percent part. I was just teasing you about giving him special treatment."

'_Of course…' _I couldn't help but roll my eyes again.

"So I suppose you were serious about him being cute too," I stated sarcastically.

She sighed dreamily. "Wouldn't you agree?"

I didn't answered. Not because I actually fully agreed with her but for the fact that I wasn't sure if she was teasing me or not. Probably not. Last time I've seen that glimmer in her eyes was when she was enjoying a cup of coffee and there sure weren't any in the room at the moment. I never did had a chance to answer her anyway because the sound of groaning (yes, groaning) answered instead.

'_Oh right… the patient.'_

Both Megan and I looked down at the patient only to see his eyes shifting underneath his eyelids and a slight twitching in his hands. The patient was finally waking and had effectively ended our oh-so-_productive_ conversation.

Thank goodness!

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

Hello readers, sorry for taking so long to update, I hope you enjoy… (ducks when a couple of rotten tomatoes came hurling towards her)… Ummm… sorry for leaving this chapter at a cliffhanger. It really wasn't my intention initially but at least he woke up… (ducks again from another tomato)… near the end at least. This chapter was getting way too long. I was approaching my 9th page in font size 11, Times New Roman. I promise to get the next chapter up soon and you'll definitely get to read more of Criss Angel actually interacting with Tammy. It will be fun I promise!!

**To answer to some of my reviews from chapter 2:**

Captain Jackie Lovely: Thank you for reviewing chapter 2. Yes I think J.D. is awesome despite the fact that he usually remains in the background in most of Criss's stunts but I think he plays a major backbone to Criss's hectic life like most of his family and friends are.

BlueStar: Yes I always think sarcasm when used right can be a wonderful mean of expression. Witty dark humor if you will.

nine-tails8: Thank you for your patience in waiting. I hope this chapter had been well worth the wait.

Fiona12960/Rogue: I'm not sure which name you will like me to refer to you as, hope you don't mind (looks sheepish). I'm glad you are warming up to Tammy's character. I spent a great deal in trying to make her as real as possible when faced with her type of situation. And yes, I do like the idea of JD, Costa and their mother giving Criss an ear full of reprimanding and plenty of guilt trips with the agony of worries he puts them through.

AnonymousAJ: Once again, sarcasm is really a beautiful thing. Glad you like it. I guarantee there will be plenty of those.

shinigami109: I really like your name. It's cool! He's finally awake!… sort of… more will come next chapter. Promise!

Eagleschicks86: Thank you so much for your support. I'm glad you're enjoying the story as much as I am writing it.

gerardlover123: Yes it really frustrating there aren't many Criss Angel fanfic out there. He such a great and gifted guy.


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